If you are a regular VPN user, you must know the pros and cons of a VPN. Even if you don’t, the process is relatively easy. You might face a dilemma in choosing the perfect VPN for you, but don’t worry, we have your back. So what are the things you require to look for in a VPN before purchasing?
How fast is your VPN?
Speed is critical for a VPN. It's impossible to deny. So when picking a VPN service provider, speed is one of the essential elements to consider. What, though, distinguishes one VPN service from another?
It is not always simple or obvious to diagnose a slow VPN connection. However, you can generally work through common obstacles and considerably enhance performance with the appropriate technique.
Now, what affects the speed of a VPN?
Many factors are affecting the speed of a VPN. After testing numerous times, we have finally found some key factors influencing the speed of a VPN.
✔️Server Locations
✔️ISP connection
✔️Firewalls
✔️Too many servers
To describe briefly, if you choose a server on your VPN that has its location quite far away, the data must travel across such a long distance; hence, the speed will be slower. This is called peering, where various networks trade the priority of data exchange and the terms involved. But choosing a location closer would reduce the problem to an extent.
Secondly, your internet service provider might reduce the speed depending on how much internet you are consuming. They can detect that and decide to lower your rate. This is a reason why your VPN might be a little slow in terms of speed.
Then comes the Firewalls. Firewalls will not affect the performance of a VPN unless they are specifically designed to interfere with the performance of your CPU or VPN traffic. In situations like this, the speed drops significantly, or the traffic is completely blocked. Additional applications, such as antiviruses, can substantially slow down your VPN connections by checking all outgoing and incoming data packets, which can dramatically slow down the connection.
There is an issue with the number of servers too. If your VPN has overloaded servers, your network speed may decrease. You will consistently get a set bandwidth when you connect to a VPN server. Some providers (such as free VPNs) impose bandwidth limits for specific periods. Other VPN providers will distribute bandwidth as efficiently as possible among all users on the server. Regardless of the VPN, their servers will all have server load restrictions.
How reliable is your VPN encryption?
The protocol used to establish a VPN connection is crucial. Unfortunately, the point-to-point tunneling protocol, a famous early solution for data breaches, does not provide further encryption for your connection. It's quick, but it's not secure, with numerous documented flaws. But some protocols are now being implemented on VPNs. Such as the AES-256 or ChaCha20. These are the best protocols, and most VPNs use this as a part of their military-grade encryption.
P2P functionality of a VPN
The peer-to-peer, more commonly known as P2P functionality, is quite popular out of many other protocols. A P2P VPN is a virtual private network (VPN) service that provides servers to connect to peer-to-peer networks. An open VPN with no logs policy, high encryption, and no bandwidth limits is also available with a P2P VPN. P2P is one of the most efficient and easiest ways to share files. P2P networks involve user machines that act as independent servers rather than uploading or downloading files from a specific server. This speeds up file sharing because you receive files in little bits from several user devices rather than from a single site.
Ease of use
VPNs are relatively easy to use. There is not much that you need to do for a VPN to be running on your device. Most of the VPNs support the 3-way rule which is download, click, connect which is indeed very convenient. First, download your preferred VPN, then click and subscribe to their network, and lastly choose your ideal server and connect your device to it.
Device support
VPNs are so popular now that they're available on almost any platform. Nearly 52% of VPN users are on iOS, 37% on android, 6% on windows, and 3% on macOS. VPNs are also available for smart TVs, PlayStations, Xbox, and even Chromecast.
Payment and variety in prices
VPN companies offer very handsome prices for VPNs. They have plans which are monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or even up to 2 years. This is done to make things more effortless for the user as paying multiple times may cost more rather than paying for a certain period of time altogether. Customers from all over the world are certainly satisfied with this idea and they go along with it. There are also many sales provided yearly which is like a cherry on top. But there are some certain sales which are very suspicious. We have come across some services which offer very very low prices for a long amount of time. These are most likely not adapted to survive extreme conditions meaning cannot survive hacks and bans or worst-case scenario, a scam. This is easily avoidable if we check properly and cross-check with other servers.
How do I know if I have made the right choice?
There are hundreds of VPNs launching left and right but making the right choice is very important for your safety. A good VPN should provide you with a lot of options. Some of them are leaders in VPN products and services, and we suggest them both to you. They provide you great performance, dependability, security, and privacy with no bandwidth restrictions, or any other limitations for that matter. They are packed with features and have wide capabilities no matter the situation. When you consider reputation and feedback, it's easy to make the appropriate decision. Humans are the best critics of their own choices so you ought to make your decision wisely.
Conclusion
To conclude this, we can say that VPNs are not only there for the sake of it rather it has become a necessity. Its easy-to-use features at such affordable prices has made it more convenient for users to lean on it. The privacy and security that come from a VPN are unmatchable. Using VPN is nothing unusual but it is a new trend, a new norm and the internet is a pied piper leading us towards it.